An Unexpected Hope
by KaimelarTheDreamer
Summary: he sequel to Caught in the Crossfire. Samantha never thought she would ever be given the opportunity to have her normal body back along with her normal life. She had never dared to hope that it could happen. She had excepted that she could look like this weird cat creature her entire life, or lives, whichever. And will she still be able to work for the Joes?
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Find

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Find

Samantha P.O.V.

"I can't believe you actually wanted to do this. You know that that part of your fur will never grow back right?" Lifeline fussed as he observed the final details of my tattoo on my shoulder were completed. My tattoo was the G.I. Joe symbol with a symbol that meant I was ninja. We had to use chemicals to make sure the fur never grew back to hide the tattoo.

"I know Lifeline. I knew that before we began and I knew it the pass twenty times you asked me." I said as anger crept into my voice. The overprotective medic had asked me the question twenty times already and my answer had been almost exactly the same every time. "Lifeline, I know I've been your patient several times, including a few life or death situations, but I am not your patient right now!"

Lifeline looked a little startled at my ferocity, but he quickly recovered and slunk out of the room.

"Thanks." I told Gung-Ho after he finished my tattoo.

"No problem." He responded back as I left.

Lifeline wasn't the only one who was being overprotective. Due to some information I found out when hacking into Cobra's database. Cobra had decided that as long I was alive that they couldn't start their super soldier program because I had this nasty habit of destroying their plans. Now one of their objectives was to kill me. I had guards that would surround me everywhere I went. They would crowd me in the halls, stand at attention outside my bedroom door, and when I went to the bathroom, the females would find me inside and guard the stall door while the males waited outside and guarded the bathroom door. And all that was what happened inside the base. I had to have authorization to put one foot outside. The only time I didn't feel suffocated was when Snake Eyes was on guard. He would remain hidden until we were in a closed off room, then he would simply sit down on the floor in front of the door and meditate. I was only able to detect him when he was on guard because of my heightened senses.

My family and friends had been returned to their homes partly due to the fact that Cobra would no longer use them as experiments. The main reason was the fact that the school year was coming up soon and my parents wanted Jason to continue public school, and they wanted the same for Stacy and Mark. Plus, Mark's parents were probably starting to get worried despite the Joes reassurances that he was fine. Stacy's parents were out on yet another business trip, but they had registered her for senior year all the same. I wanted to go, but with my deformity, I couldn't. My family may have been released, but that didn't mean that they weren't under constant guard. There still was the threat that Cobra would try to use them against me.

I sighed as I started towards my computer lab for my weekly hack into Cobra's database. When I got there, I slid the door closed and locked it before plopping down into my plush office chair that was in front of 10 computer screens. Snake Eyes did his usual thing and appeared in front of the locked door to meditate. I quickly hacked into the database and started searching through files. I no longer left a virus to destroy files after I was done doing that manually, so Cobra never knew when and if I was in their database, and whenever I delete a file I make it look like a soldier did it.

I enjoyed these little hacks. Not only was I assisting the Joes while they would not let on field missions, the Cobra database was a great source of gossip. Hmm…. Destro and Baroness broke up again. That's like the third break up this month. They'll probably be back together before my next weekly hack. A new piece of information popped up. Oh, they just made up. I give it about a week. I mentally laughed. Reading Cobra gossip was hilarious. I honestly can't wait to embarrass Destro and Baroness the next time we meet on the battlefield. Ooo, Cobra Commander still sleeps with a stuffed toy and a night light? The toy is a snake named Serpento and the night light only gives off the color red. Red is sort of menacing, and at least he's trying to keep stuff snake themed.

I opened another file and forgot all about the juicy pieces of gossip I had just read. I was serious now, deadly serious. The file had been labeled "List of Dangerous Chemicals" but the information wasn't that. It was something that I had thought I would never believe possible, especially since Cobra Commander himself had said it was impossible to do, that if I even tried that I would end up dead within minutes. I looked over it and decided that it had to be real. They wouldn't have given it a fake file name otherwise. They didn't think that I checked every file, just the ones that looked important.

The information in the file was the cure and a plan to administer it to me. There was a twist though; the cure was laced with a mind control serum that would allow Cobra Commander to control me. There was a bright side to it though, if I could get rid of the mind control I could change from Katana and Samantha at will. That meant I could still fulfill my duties as a Joe and be an average teenager. The stuff in the cure looked pretty expensive and some of the ingredients were stuff that the Joes couldn't get legally. That meant I would have to be out in the field so I could shot by the dart that would carry the cure, but I would have to either edit the file so it didn't include the ingredients for the mind control serum or create an antidote for it. Or I could do both. A plan popped up in my head, and it came with a plan B.

I quickly edited the formula and dashed out of the room so fast that I ran Snake Eyes over. "Sorry Snake Eyes." I yelled as I ran with him following me. "Could you grab Duke and a few of the other Joes in charge and have them meet me in board room 3A? Oh, and could you grab Airtight too?" He gave me a quick thumbs up before darting out of sight.

I had my computer up to a projector and was hacking into the Cobra database when Duke, Airtight, Beach Head, General Hawk, and Sergeant Slaughter came in. "Alright missy, you have three seconds to explain before I-", Sergeant Slaughter started.

"Before you what? End up out cold on the table because you wouldn't give a ninja a chance to say her part before you started making threats?" I retorted.

He promptly shut his mouth, knowing full well that I could easily take him out and fulfill my threat.

"I may not agree with his method, Samantha, but he does have a point. We need to know why you called us all here. Why do you need four superior officers and a toxin/chemical expert?" Duke asked.

"Because I may have found a way of getting my original body back."

Duke P.O.V.

"Because I may have found a way of getting my original body back."

I hadn't expected that reply. I had expected her to have called us in to make a complaint about having guards and never being sent on any missions anymore. We all leaned forward in our seat.

"How?" General Hawk asked, voicing everyone's question.

"I'm going to tell you the plan, but I will need your authorization and cooperation if this is to work." She began. "Today when I was doing my weekly hack, I found this." She projected an image onto the white screen. It was a file labeled "List of Dangerous Chemicals" and it was obvious that she was currently hacked into the Cobra database.

"Why is that important? Almost every organization like ours or Cobra's has that kind of list." Airtight asked. "And what does this all have to do with me?"

Samantha let out a warning growl and a hiss. "I can tell you that if I get no interruptions." She opened the file to reveal that it wasn't what it had appeared to be. "Cobra has found the cure, not only for the super soldier serum, but for the toxin that will be activated once the cure is injected. The cure is not something that we can make, but it is something that Cobra wants to use on me due to the fact that there is mind control serum in it. Now, I deleted the mind control serum part in hopes that they would overlook it and that I could receive the injection without ending up under their control, but there is a chance that they will discover that the mind control serum has been deleted and out of belief that I was the one to delete it that I know their plans and will only let them continue with their evil deeds because I believe that I will be cured. In order for their plan to work they need to kidnap my brother, and we're going to let them."


	2. Chapter 2: A Ninja's Deceit

Chapter 2: A Ninja's Deceit

Jason P.O.V.

I looked nervously around me as I walked home from the park with three soldiers. I patted the portable syringe that looked like an epipen in my pocket. The whole plan rested on if they wouldn't take it away from me, that they would believe my lie. I knew that the plan was for me to be kidnapped and that I had willingly agreed to it, but that didn't make me feel any better about this. Samantha promised that they wouldn't harm me as long as there was the risk that she could say no.

I was still looking around nervously when I received a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Storm Shadow standing behind me with my guards knocked out and on the ground. I hope they weren't dead because someone dying wasn't a part of the plan. "Did you kill them?" I asked, my voice sounding a little shaky.

"Your guards? No, they need to deliver the message that you've been kidnapped to your sister. Can't do that if they're dead." He replied before he picked me up and started running. Somewhere along the way he blindfolded me and he only removed the blindfold after he set me down in front of Cobra Commander.

"So, you're Jason. I don't believe we've met. I'm-" He started.

"Cobra Commander, the jerk who turned my sister into a cat-human hybrid." I finished for him.

"Ah, so I see you already know who I am. Storm Shadow, did he have any weapons, tracking devices, or anything that might hint that Katana knows our plans?" He asked the ninja.

"No, he only had this." He replied, holding up the syringe.

"Hey, that's my epipen. Give it back to me. I need it in case I have an allergic reaction." I whined.

The Commander ignored my plea and asked me, "Did your sister tell you that she knew we were going to kidnap you? Don't even bother trying to lie, we have other ways, more painful ways, to make you talk."

I feigned surprise, hoping that it looked real and asked, "She knew? She couldn't have. She would've asked me if I was alright with that."

"Looks like she didn't. She knew about this and chose to let us kidnap you just so she could possibly be cured. Little does she know that even though she deleted the mind control serum from the ingredients that we still added it to the cure. Your sister will be ours before noon tomorrow and you'll be the latest test subject of our super soldier serum, and using you as a sacrifice will have been for nothing!" He hissed.

"No, no, that's not true! Samantha would never do that! Just give me my epipen back and throw me into whatever you call a prison. I refuse to hear any more negative things about my sister." I cried out as I covered my ears.

"Fine, give him back his epipen. We can't have him die just because of an allergic reaction." The Cobra Commander commanded.

The white ninja gave it to me and forced me to stand up and walk three flights of stairs and then threw me into the nearest cell. The cell looked like something from a medieval themed movie. The walls were made out of stones and the door was made out of iron bars. The whole place was damp and cold and I saw mold and moss growing everywhere. I really hoped my sister's plan worked; otherwise I wasn't going to make to the sixth grade.

I fell asleep at one point, and when I woke up I was sure that it was morning. I wasn't sure exactly what time, but I could just feel that it was morning. I soon heard the steps of a Cobra trooper marching down the stairs. I stood up hoping for a little breakfast, but upon seeing the trooper with only having a key in his hands my hope vanished and I knew that the second phase of my sister's plan was about to begin.

The soldier loaded me up in an off-roader and didn't even bother to tie my hands up. I guess they didn't see me as a threat. That's good; I would need my hands free for my sister's plan to work. We quickly arrived at our destination and they dragged me out of the tinted vehicle. I saw that Cobra had brought a large portion of their troops, as well as tanks, and various other types of weaponry. The same went for the Joes. Both sides were prepared for a fight.

Duke stepped out to meet the Commander who was followed closely by Storm Shadow just as my sister followed Duke. The met have way and Duke announced very loudly, "I believe you have someone of great importance to Samantha and we would like him back."

"I do, but we won't be giving him back, but we will be taking her." Then as if on cue (which it probably was), something whizzed towards Duke and Samantha. Samantha instantly pushed Duke out of the way and took the flying object right to the flesh just beneath the collarbone and she collapsed. It was obviously a dart, probably the one that carried the cure and the mind control serum. Samantha started howling in pain as the dart's contents took effect. Instead of acting like the concerned superior officer that Duke should've been, he got clear of Samantha as fast as he could; knowing full well what would happen if he was near when the mind control serum took effect. Cobra Commander would've ordered for him to be killed instantly. I watched in wonder and horror as my sister returned to normal and then stood up.

"Who do you obey now, Samantha?" Cobra Commander shouted.

"I obey Cobra Commander." Was my sister's response, her voice had a robotic sound to it.

"No!" I cried, bringing attention to myself. "It can't be!"

Cobra Commander cackled sinisterly as he thought of something that was probably evil. "I have an idea. How about instead of experimenting on the brat we have his own sister kill him? Then I could allow her to take control of her mind temporarily to see her brother's blood on her hands! Samantha, kill the little brat!" He ordered and he pointed at me.

My guards instantly ran and hid behind the tank as my sister roared viscously and sprang at me. I really hoped that this work. I quickly pulled the epipen from my pocket and when my sister stood over me, ready to kill me, I stabbed epipen into the same shoulder that received the dart. Her shoulder would hurt for a while. Samantha froze for a minute and then blinked her eyes a few times. "Samantha?" I whispered.

"Yeah, it's me." She whispered back.

"What are you waiting for?" The Commander shouted. "Kill him already!"

She looked at me with a sorry expression. "Sorry kiddo, I hope you forgive me for this."

"For what?" I asked, panicking. Maybe the anti-mind control serum didn't work and I was still going to die. Samantha promptly picked me up and swung me around her in a circle a few times before she threw me towards the Joes' side of the battlefield. Thankfully the battlefield was a desert, so I landed in a soft dune instead of hard ground. I was thankful for the landing, but I knew that I'd be picking sand out of my undies for weeks. I quickly sat up to see my sister begin to turn herself back into Katana.

"What's all this Samantha? I ordered you to kill the boy, not throw him to the enemy. And I never ordered you to turn into Katana." The Commander scolded, not yet realizing that Samantha was no longer under his control.

"No you didn't Commander, but it's what I wanted." She hissed, forcing the Commander to realize that he had just lost this battle. There was no way that he could defeat the Joes' army and two ultimate ninjas. He hadn't brought enough men to even stand a chance.

"Retreat!" He ordered. "Retreat back to base! You have won this time Joes, but Samantha shall be mine, or she will die!"

Rufus Callaway P.O.V.

Our doorbell rang and I quickly ran down the stairs to open it, hoping it was who I thought it was. It was. There on our front porch stood Samantha, near the same spot she had nearly died several months ago. Not only was it Samantha, but it was the Samantha before Cobra screwed up our lives and her hand held firmly onto her little brothers.

She opened her mouth and the first thing she said was, "So, when does school start?"


	3. Chapter 3: Back to School

Chapter 3: Back to School

Samantha P.O.V.

"Come on kiddo!" I called to my little brother from my warm haven inside the car. "If you don't hurry up and it rains I'll be late to school."

"Just one more minute. I just need to find one last flower for my new teacher's bouquet." He begged.

"Fine, but you know, I stopped doing that kind of thing in fourth grade." I replied.

"That's because you accidentally forgot your teacher was a Mr. and not a Mrs. or Ms." He retorted.

"Hey, I thought I told you to forget about that!" I scolded.

"Whatever. Okay, I found the last flower. Let's go." He said as slipped into the passenger seat.

"About time." I muttered under my breath as I drove us out of the driveway. Jason's school wasn't too far from home. Only a few city blocks, but it was supposed to rain pretty heavily today, so mom wanted me to drop him off. And if it rained that meant certain streets would be closed and that I would have to take the long route to school which would cause me to be late.

A few minutes later, I pulled up next to the drop of zone at my brother's school. He quickly got out of the car and ran up to a few friends who had just been dropped off. I rolled down my window and called out, "By kiddo, have a great first day of middle school! Same goes for you John, Piper, and Sam!" My brother and his friends, who I knew from before I was "killed", turned their heads to look at me. Their faces froze with a surprised look on their faces while my brother just smirked. They waved good-bye to me with small waves due to the shock as I rolled the window back up and drove away. "Oh man, my teachers and classmates are going to have heart attacks!" I laughed.

Mrs. Aquia P.O.V.

It had started to pour about fifteen minutes ago and the late bell was about to ring. I wonder how many seniors were going to be late because of it. For first period I taught AP Lit and I so looked forward to meeting the slackers I would be given this year. I, of course, meant that sarcastically. Sure, there was the occasional student that actually worked hard and did well, but I usually got the slackers for some reason. Seniors were the worst. Just because they were close to graduating they think that they can slack off. Most of my freshman from the past years put more effort into English 2 honors than seniors did AP Lit. I thought it kind of funny that I taught seniors first period and freshman second. I taught my least favorite class first and my most favorite class second. Maybe if the two class periods had been switched I wouldn't be so hard on my freshman students, maybe I wouldn't have been so hard on Samantha before she died. She honestly had been a good student; it was just that learning things had just been way too easy for her.

Every one of the twenty-four seats was filled except for one when the late bell rang and I began roll call, starting from the bottom of the alphabet like I usually do. "Jessica Zuly."

"Here."

"Emily Peter."

"Here.

"Samson Patterson."

"Please, call me Sam."

"Louis Oron."

"It's pronounced Louis, not Lewie."

"Adriana Osorio."

"Whatever."

"Katherine Noel."

"Present."

"Aura Marquise."

"Here."

"Karl Matney."

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Mark Louis."

"What's up?"

"Cameron Locke."

"Present and accounted for."

"Kyle Kuster."

"I'm single, ladies."

"Aaliyah Kissu."

"I don't kiss everybody, just my boyfriend."

"Jonathan Kane."

"I love candy canes."

"Annabeth Jackson."

"I am not the offspring of the fictional characters Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson. My parents just have a sick sense of humor."

"Dakota Irwin."

"Sup."

"Matthey Guevara."

"Yep."

"Homer Gano."

"What's it to you?"

"Theo Cefalu."

"Here."

"Stacy Clint."

"Huh?"

"Samantha… Wait a second. Whose sick joke is this? Who put Samantha Callaway on the roster?" I demanded. Stacy and Mark looked up at me in hope. No one stood to take responsibility, and it probably wasn't a student anyway. None of them had access to the roster online. I walked over to the school phone and called up the front office.

"Hello, this is the front office. How can I help you?" The secretary asked when she picked up the phone.

"This is Mrs. Aquia and I have a question about my first period roster. There was a student who died nearly four years ago and for some reason her name is on my roster. Why is her name there?"

"It might just be a typo ma'am. Give me the students name and I'll look it up."

"Her name was Samantha Callaway."

"Well, it says here that her mother came in and registered her for classes. Everything checks out in the information and the state acknowledged Ms. Callaway's information as true. So, if that student really did die nearly four years ago I honestly don't know what to tell you. Maybe there's a glitch in the state's system or the state is just humoring a mourning mother."

"Her mother should be over the whole mourning thing by now! I was the girl's teacher for her freshmen year and-" My rant was interrupted when a figure with a dark blue, water proof jacket with the hoodie pulled up came in.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to drop my brother off at school and I had to take the long route to get here when it started to rain." The feminine voice said as it went to the empty seat. The figure removed her jacket to reveal someone that I thought I would never see alive again, Samantha Callaway. Her muscles were leaner than when I last saw her, but her hair was the same. Her eyes were nearly the same, but they looked more mature and as if she had faced a hard time. She wore a pair of black skinny jeans with a spiked belt buckle and an army camouflaged long sleeve shirt. She wore a black pair of Sketcher Go Runs and two silver dog tags dangled from a chain around her neck. Somehow, I managed to see and process all this before I passed out.

Samantha P.O.V. 

"I'm single." A boy called out as I walked over to my knocked out teacher.

"Forget it, dipwad." He must've not been here when Cobra kidnapped me, but everyone else did. They all remained silent, as if they were afraid that words might send me away. Then all of a sudden, Mark and Stacy come charging at me all at once and gave me a hug saying, "Oh, we can't believe that your back."

"I'll explain everything later." I promised them as I returned to my attention to my surprised teacher.

**I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist the whole Annabeth Jackson thing. It was priceless.**


	4. Chapter 4: A Brief Respite

Chapter 4: A Brief Respite

Alejandra P.O.V.  
>I looked at the girls that surrounded me, checking to see if any of them were a threat to me. Most of them were the same girls who tried out for the team the year before, and the year before that, and the year before that. I didn't see a single person that appeared to be a threat to me not only being on the varsity squad, but being it's captain. I had been the captain of the girls varsity basketball team for two and a half years and I definitely wasn't going to allow any of these weaklings take my place.<p>

No, I am not being cocky or overconfident and underestimating my opponents. I had learned not to do that the hard way. I had thought that I was the best freshmen year, I knew I was good enough to be on varsity and I had thought that I would be captain too. I was so confident that I underestimated someone. Her name had been Samantha. She received the title captain of the girl varsity basketball season and I was her co-captain, but when she died I was able to assume my rightful place.

She was the only one who posed, no, could've posed a threat towards me taking the roll of captain. There was no way the rumors that had been circulating for a few weeks were true. She could not be alive and going to this school again. Her body had been found in the middle of her street with a knife buried in her heart. A few rumors were floating around, one where she was a ghost and haunted the school, searching for the life she had lost. Another was that she had survived Cobra's experiment and was now some creepy mutant that worked for the Joes. The last one was that Samantha had been raised from the dead by her family. They all sounded ridiculous. It was totally impossible for her to be alive, right?

"Alright girls, let's begin." Coach Megans, the varsity coach, called. Coach Megans was a tall woman at six feet with short brown pixie hair cut and brown eyes. She was slender as she was tall and she was extremely fast, not even Samantha ever beat her in a one on one match. She held a clipboard in her hands. The clipboard where she would record who was on freshman, junior varsity, varsity, or not on a team at all. "So, who has played on a basketball team before?" Only about half the kids raised their hands and Coach Megans quickly took a count.

She was about to call for the kids who hadn't played basketball, but had played some kind of sport before when a voice called out from the entry way to the gym, "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't find a parking space."

My jaw fell to the floor and my eyes bulged out of my head. No freaking way. It was Samantha Callaway. She wore her freshman uniform and her wild Siamese hair was in a bushy ponytail. The uniform was a royal blue shirt and shorts with gold trimming. A roaring tiger was on the front with our team name, The Royal Tigers. On the back was the number one with her last name above it and our school name, Royal High School, was underneath it. It fit her perfectly, but it had been a little big on her years ago. It was obvious that she had gained a lot of muscles, but it didn't seem to make her any less skinny.

"Samantha!" Coach Megans exclaimed. "I was worried that you wouldn't make it at all."

I was about to call out to her when Coach Megans split us up into groups. I wasn't able to speak with her until we were put into the group that was shooting hoops. Only then I was finally able to talk to her face to face, which was relatively easy since she seemed determined not to have her back facing anyone. "Hey Alejandra!" She greeted.

"Hey Samantha. So, where have you been these past few years?" I responded.

"I was under the watchful eye of the Joes." She replied with a playful gleam in her eye and her voice sounded like it was supposed to be obvious.

"I'm not falling for that crud." I snapped. "I want to know where you've been and what you've done these past years as well as why you haven't come back before now."

Her eyes darkened and the playful gleam in her eye died. Her posture hardened. She looked me directly into my eyes and I shivered at her eyes. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. Those sky blue eyes kept me in place. "You don't want to know." She simply replied, and I believed her. Those eyes scared me. They did not belong to the freshman I knew once upon a time, they belonged to someone who had dark secrets that if they told you, they would have to kill you.

A girl came up and tapped her on her shoulder to let her know it was her turn. Samantha picked up the ball and got into position to shoot it. She jumped when she shot it and she jumped to a nearly impossible height. As she was in the air the straps of uniform moved out of the way and I noticed a tattoo on her right shoulder. It was the G.I. Joe symbol with another symbol right next to it. I didn't recognize it, but the girl behind me obviously did. She gasped and I turned around to look at her. She was an Asian girl with her hair in a ponytail and wire rimmed glasses on her face. It was obvious she had no chance of getting on the team as obvious as it was that she was a nerd. She was hunched over in fear of us athletes.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Those tattoos on her shoulder... One is the G.I. Joe symbol and the other is a symbol for ninja. I recognize it from a book I read about the Joes. Some members get these tattoos to represent their affiliation and specialty."

I left the girl muttering about how Samantha could possibly get those tattoos to take my turn. Once I was done and I went back in line after Samantha, I observed her more carefully. She had a scar on her right arm that appeared on both side, as if something very sharp have been stabbed through her arm. She also had various scars all over her that were so small and faint that you either had to look at her really hard or the light had to hit her just the right way for you to see them. She had two small circle shaped scars on her left forearm that reminded me of what I thought a snake bite would look like. I could only wonder how she got all these scars because I was to afraid to ask a third time what had happened.

Once the various coaches had looked us over and made some notes, Coach Megans called us all over to the center of the gym. "Okay, you'll be able to find out if you made it on a team and/or what team you made it on in three days on the school sports board." She announced. "But I have a special opportunity for you now. Every year after try outs I offer up the deal that if anyone can beat me, I'll take them out to dinner tonight and then by pizza and shakes for everyone after every game we win this season! No one has been able to accomplish this yet, but does anyone want to give it a try?"

Several freshman tried and failed. Only five sophomores tried. Three juniors tried. They all failed. I wasn't going to try, I knew that I would fail, but apparently Samantha felt differently about herself because after everyone else had tried, she stepped forward to accept the challenge.

"Do you think that just because I've had to play against fifteen people that I'll be tired and easy to beat? Think again. I haven't even broken a sweat." Coach Megans taunted.

"Samantha had her arms crossed with one hand on her chin and a thoughtful look her in eye as she looked at the Coach. "In case you haven't noticed Coach, I haven't either." She calmly replied as she continued to study the Coach.

Coach Megans started a bit, and she had a right to. Every time a student had stepped out to face her, they had broken out in sweats. They were scared of how humiliated they would be if they failed, and they believed that they had an almost absolute chance of failure. But Samantha hadn't broken a sweat. She seemed very confident that she could succeed where everyone else had failed.

"You can start off with the ball if you want to." Samantha offered and Coach took her up on her offer. I could see sweat staring to form and drip off Coach Megans. I noticed that she was looking Samantha directly in the eyes. I forced myself to look into them as well and this time I saw only power and strength. I felt sweat beginning to roll down my back.

Then it ended almost as quickly as it started. Samantha darted forward to steal the ball from Coach and Coach lifted the ball out of reach to only find out that there was no longer a ball in her hands. Everyone heard a series rapid thuds and then a whoosh and whipped their heads towards the baskets to find Samantha standing near one and the ball still bouncing from its fall. "That wasn't much of a challenge. Want to try again?"

I'm sure that everyone in the gym had their jaw touching the ground. How did she get so good? Everyone was so shocked in awe that no one could speak. Well... everyone except a woman with long red hair. I didn't notice her until she spoke up. "Ahem." She cleared her throat and the cocky smile on Samantha's face vanished when she saw the woman and was replaced with a look that seemed crossed between shame and fear. "Don't you think that that was a bit much?"

"Sorry Aunt Scarlet. Not used to having to tone it down yet."

"Well, in order for you to be on the team you'll have to learn to tone it down." The woman threatened as she walked up to to Samantha and grabbed Samantha right shoulder in a tight grip.

Samantha winced and growled slightly, "Wrong shoulder."

Worry and embarrassment passed across her aunt's face almost as fast as Samantha scoring that basket. "Sorry kiddo. You do know your tat is showing, right?" She asked as she moved her hand to the other shoulder and gripped that one firmly as she started leading her niece out of the gym.

"Yeah. So what? I can't keep it a secret forever."

"You need to try and keep it as long as you can."

They were trying to whisper, but they were failing miserably.

"I'm tired of secrets. The past three years of my life I have been keeping secrets." Samantha growled.

"I know you're tired of them Samantha, but we need to set up a stable safe plan for you and your family before you can be the tiniest bit free of this secret." The last part was an actual whisper and the only reason I heard it was because I had been trying to stick as close to them as I could without being noticed, but while I went unnoticed, I noticed that Samantha had a nasty looking bruise on the front of her right shoulder. I hadn't noticed it before only because it had been covered in make up and her supposed "aunt" had just rubbed some off when she had accidentally grabbed it.

Something was certainly strange about Samantha Callaway. And that something dealt with the past three years and I was planning on finding out what it was before the "safe plan" was set up.


	5. Chapter 5: A Slipping Secret

Chapter 5: A Slipping Secret

Alejandra P.O.V.

It was no surprise that Samantha had become captain of the varsity team, and that I was her co-captain that had no hope of keeping up or catching up to her captain. After the little stunt she pulled she had earned the nickname "The Cheetah" due to her incredible speed.

What was a surprise was what I saw when I entered the gym at 5:30 am, a time that most people would find insane, to practice. I wanted to blow off some steam that I had gained from having a dream where I was playing basketball and I could never make it into the hoop, but Samantha, who stood by my side and made it in every time.

"Are you sure that you should be here doing this?" I heard a voice ask. I stopped, freezing in my place, out of sight of whoever was in the gym in this ungodly hour. The voice sounded slightly familiar. Like I had heard it once before.

After a series of grunts and various other sounds, like someone bouncing off the walls the other person responded. "Don't worry about it, Scarlet. Nobody is here this early in the morning. I've been doing this for weeks now."

That voice most definitely belonged to Samantha. What was she doing here this early in the morning? And why had she addressed her aunt by her name without the title?

"If anyone discovers what you've been doing here and what you are and what you can do, you will be kicked off the team."

The next time Samantha spoke she was more somber. "I know, but if I don't practice when I can I won't be fit to assist you and the Joes against Cobra."

So, she the rumor that she worked for the Joes is true, but what of the other part? The part that says she's a mutant? I hear a scraping sound.

"Be careful." Scarlet scolds her. "You don't want the school questioning why there are claw marks all over their gym."

Claw marks? I finally gained the courage the look around the corner. Scarlet stood in the middle of the gym as a tan blur darted around the room. It would bounce off a wall, flip in mid air, and repeat the process with different stunts. Targets were placed all around the room and sometimes knives would sprout out of them or when the blur came close became shredded instantly. The remains of the shredded ones looked like either that a got them or something had cut clean through it. The tan blur moved like you would see a ninja move on TV, except it was a lot faster.

"I'm starving," the blur said in Samantha's voice as it started to slow down. "Want to grab some breakfast at McDonald's? There like the only place open at this time of day and there is no way I'm having pizza bagels from the school cafeteria for breakfast."

The blur had came to a complete stop now, and before Scarlet could say anything I let out a scream that I tried to muffle with my own hand. The blur was a cat-human hybrid with a Siamese fur and hair pattern. Her hair was an untamable lion's main and her eyes were a soul piercing sky blue. She wore a green crop top with short sleeves and a pink sparkly heart in the center and holes for the corner of her shoulders and a pair of blue jean booty shorts. Her furry feet were bare but I could see a pair of black flats laying on the bleachers, along with Samantha's backpack. Two katanas were strapped to her back and a belt of knives were slung over her shoulder.

The hybrid's ears twitched in my direction for a brief second and I thought that they might have not heard me. Then they both charged in my direction without warning and in less then a second the hybrid had my arms pinned behind me.

"How much do you know?" She hissed. My heart was pounding wildly. No way this could be the Samantha I knew. The one I knew couldn't harm a living thing and was always filled with happiness and joy. This one sounded like she would kill and has. This one was filled with sorrow, pain, suffering, and fear. What could she possibly fear with all the immense power she holds.

Scarlet ran up to face me and told the creature, "Katana, not here. She can be interrogated at the local HQ."

"Fine," Katana growled, "Tell my parents to call me in sick. I want to stick around to watch it. The Joes can cover up her absence, right?"

The woman lets out a sigh, as if she knows arguing is pointless. "Yes, and I'll contact your parents once we reach the local HQ."

"Good, now let's go. I assume you can take care of the mess, Snake Eyes?" A short gust of wind and a shadow pass over us. "Thank you." The hybrid said to the invisible force, then she shoved me forward and grabbed Samantha's belongings off the bleachers. They then blindfolded me and drove me to some unknown location.

* * *

><p><span>Katana P.O.V.<span>

I stared at the human being with a bag over her head and was tied to the chair in front of us. I did not stare at her in awe but in fear and anger. Alejandra could work for Cobra for all I know, or she could just have been there on accident. Right now, I hoped that all she knew was that I was just a strange creature named Katana.

Duke walked up and yanked the bag off her head, messing up her fine curly locks. She looked at all of us with a gaping mouth. The people present were Scarlet, Duke, and myself. No one else needed to be in this already small and cramped room. Then the gaping mouth slammed shut and her charming personality turned on.

"You know this is a lot like a kidnapping." She snapped.

"And you know this is a lot like not keeping a lid on your attitude could get you in more trouble, right?" I retorted.

"Katana," Scarlet warned, "Watch yourself. She's not in trouble, not yet at least."

"She right, Ms. Ramirez. You aren't in trouble until we can prove if you work for Cobra or if you are a threat to Katana's secret." Duke reassured the girl.

Alejandra looked at me in confusion and fear. I knew she was smart enough two and two together, so why wouldn't she do it already?

"What secret? That she trains at my school in the morning and is a super cat mutant ninja? Honestly, no one would believe me if I tried telling them that." She replied, her voice was still tart but that was her defense mechanism. I could smell her fears almost literally rolling off her in waves. Was she afraid of putting two and two together?

"Duke, she knows. She just doesn't want to admit it to herself or anyone else." I explained to him. "She's afraid to."

"You mean... you can't be serious... no. Samantha?"

"Now that you figured out who, more like what, I am, I can tell you what has happened to me since I was kidnapped so long ago." I start. "But I can't guarantee that you'll like what you hear, and if a word about this gets out I'll have to kill you."

"Samantha..." Scarlet warned.

"Joking." I say putting my hands up in surrender. Then I told Alejandra my story and that's how my secret started to disappear.


End file.
